Overseas Trip Establishes Bowman As A Big Man In The Big East
Senior Forward Driven By Family
By Tom Stass

The Big East has always been more of a guard's league, but it's had it's share of big men. Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning head the list, but many other centers and power forwards have had tremendous success in the NBA after paying their dues in the northeastern corner of the country. Players like Charles Smith, Derrick Coleman, Clifford Robinson and Dikembe Mutombo have carved out solid NBA careers.

Young players like Syracuse's Etan Thomas and UConn's Jake Voskuhl are trying to become NBA contributors. Even Pitt's Mark Blount is making a living in the NBA.

In Morgantown, WVU senior forward Calvin Bowman is quietly following in the footsteps of the great Big East big men. At 6-9, 211, Bowman may not exactly be what NBA aficionados refer to as a "big man," but he has filled that role for the Mountaineers quite well so far.

Bowman, who arrived at West Virginia as a junior college transfer, averaged 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season while he adjusted to life in the Big East. He flashed his potential with a 17-point, 12-rebound performance at nationally ranked Tennessee, turned in a 21-point, eight-rebound effort at home against Syracuse, and then poured in 29 points in a near-upset win at Connecticut late in the season last year.

His numbers last season were modest, but his start in 2000-2001 has been anything but. He is averaging around 10 rebounds per game - more than Notre Dame All-American Troy Murphy or Pitt veteran Isaac Hawkins, and he ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage.

Those numbers indicate he is developing some consistency, something that was not part of his game last season. He'd put up monster numbers against Tennessee or Connecticut, and then disappear against Ohio and Boston College. Bowman recognized his need to play at the same level every game before this season began.

"I've got to become more consistent and be more of a leader," he said.

Despite the fact that he is one of just two seniors on the team, Bowman feels he can inherit the role of the leader of the Mountaineer team. He averaged 19.7 points per game during an overseas tournament in the off-season, a steady performance which may have helped the Brooklyn native in that regard.

"It kind of brought the team together a little bit more," he said of the two-week tour of Australia and New Zealand. "It made some other players step up. It was great team-wise, and it was fun because it gave me a chance to match skills against older players. Playing overseas gave me more confidence to play in the Big East."

Bowman's size, quickness and jumping ability made him one of the top junior college players in the nation at San Jacinto Junior College, where he earned first team JUCO All-America honors. Bowman averaged 17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game to lead San Jacinto to a 62-5 record and a place in the national championship game during his two seasons there. His solid and sometimes spectacular play at WVU last season made him a leader on the team, and now he hopes to turn that solid start into a fantastic finish.

He opened his senior season with a fire and resolve to establish himself as a player with a professional future. Bowman is an unparalleled defender and shot blocker in the Big East, a good finisher around the basket who runs the floor extremely well. At the same time, he can be a finesse player with some pretty nifty moves.

His future beyond the final game of his senior season is unclear, but for Bowman, that's just fine. He is concentrating on the now, with goals of the NCAA tournament for the team, and a first-team selection to the All-Big East team for himself. His only goals for after the season are a college degree and a spot on a professional basketball roster somewhere.

"But first, I want to be able to accomplish the goals that I have set for myself this year," he said. "I want to be able to make my family proud, especially my biggest supporter, my mother."

He's done that so far, and there is no reason to believe he won't live up to his goals for this season and beyond.

Tom Stass is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia.